When you own your own business, especially a small or mid-sized business, the C-Suite responsibilities and decisions typically fall on you. From Chief Executive Officer to Chief Financial Officer to Chief Technology Officer to Chief Marketing Officer and finally Chief Cleaning the Coffee Pot Officer (arguably the most important officer of all). After all, it’s all you – you are the C-Suite.
You may have in-house folks or outsourced agencies working within these departments. Maybe you have a virtual assistant, an accountant or bookkeeper, a marketing coordinator, or Joe the IT guy. But who is overseeing your technology? Who oversees your servers, network, security, data storage, email systems, IT contracts, scheduled maintenance and service, and disaster recovery plan? Who knows how to run your software – from practice management to accounting to marketing to email systems? We know everyone in your organization has a role and someone knows something about each of these systems. But who actually KNOWS about all of them? And is minding the store!
Outside Help on your Management Team
This is the role of an outside Chief Technology Officer or Chief Information Officer. Someone who provides guidance and validation that your technology and IT spending are in alignment with your goals and vision. Likewise, a professional who saves you time, money, potential exposure or even data loss. An expert who oversees every aspect of your IT including Disaster Recovery Planning and Cyber Security.
An outsourced Chief Technology Officer or Chief Information Officer helps you see the big picture. He or she ensures you, the business owner, have all the information you need to budget and run your business and take control of any aspect of your technology. We know that employees and situations change – that’s why you need to ensure you have a technology plan, security protocol, and strategies for fault-tolerance, critical data, improvement, and cost-reduction.
What happens when the person with your IT knowledge leaves your organization? An outsourced technology expert helps you avoid technology leadership gaps. If your IT guy gives you a generous 30-day notice, a replacement search can take 2-4 months. Further, hiring and onboarding can take another 2-4 months. What happens to your business in a 5 – 8-month lag?
Let’s talk. I can be your Chief Technology Officer or Chief Information Officer. Technology is complicated and necessary to run your business and you are already wearing so many hats.
